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Young Krakow writer wins prestigious scholarship to Edinburgh

Ahsan Ridha Hassan, a writer from Krakow, has received a scholarship from the Lord Provost’s International Residency Programme delivered by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature.

 

The Lord Provost’s International Residency Programme is a new initiative that is part of Edinburgh’s efforts to build and develop a community of all the cities in the Creative Cities Network, as the first ever UNESCO City of Literature, a title awarded fourteen years ago. The programme is aimed exclusively at writers based in Krakow. Its objectives include strengthening cooperation between cities and focusing on supporting emerging literary talents.

The first beneficiary of the programme was Ahsan Ridha Hassan, a Krakow-based writer of Iraqi descent, representative of the youngest generation of writers (born in 1988), author of Wieża  (2014), Trupojad i dziewczyna (2017), as well as a number of articles and short stories. His prose is recognised by critics for its distance, irony and tenderness towards the protagonists – all the features that evoke associations with the works by Etgar Keret and Kurt Vonnegut. Ahsan Ridha Hassan graduated with honours from the Course of Creative Writing organised by Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature.

Thanks to the scholarship, Ahsan will spend the whole of November in Edinburgh, he will also receive the status of a Community Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh (IASH). The Krakow writer will be able to engage in creative work in the space of the oldest university in Edinburgh, take advantage of the resources collected in university libraries, and actively participate in the literary life of the city. Congratulations!

 

Information on the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature website: http://www.cityofliterature.com/the-lord-provosts-international-residency/

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